The Irish standard., 1887-09-17
THE MEMORY OF DR.. CAHILl
Honored by a Statue at His Grave
in the Celebrated Glas-
nevin Cemetery.
A MOST IMPRESSIVE CEREMONY
Notes on the Life of the Eminent Theo-
logian, Educator, Orator
and Priest.

and Priest.
Sunday was memorable day for the
people Of the Irish capitol. They gath
cred in many thousands at beautiful
Glasnevin and witnessed the unveiling
of life-size statue of the great priest
and patriot whose name stands at the
head of this article. Mr.. Peter Nc
Donald, M. F., performed the cermouy,
and the throng gazel for the first time
uron noble-looking efigy of the doc
tor. 1t is a fitting monumental tribute
to his memory. Although much has
been written about the life and achieve
ments of DR.. Cahill, although most Of
the older generation Of Irishmen and
Americans are familiar with his
career, it is not inopportune, IN view OF
the above. mentioned event Of the week,
TO give some outlines of his biography.
The doctor, whose full name was
Daniel William Cahill, first saw the
light at Ashtield, which is situated near
Arless, in Queens county. He vas
born in 1896 His parents We're in com
Portable. if not aftluent, circumstances,
the father being {. scientific engineer OF
much local celebrity. From him young
Daniel undoubtedly derived a large
share of that taste for the nlathemati-
cal and physical sciences which strong"
ly characterized him through life. The
future doctor OF divinity acquired Che
rudiments Of education at school in
Athy, Kildare, and also what is COM
monty designated the academic course
of studies. Subsequently he entered
Maynooth to make che studies for the
priesthood. He was then but Is years
of age. In the midst of very bright and
very diligent seminarists from all parts
of the country, that is to say, among
mon of remarkable capabilities, young
Cahill won distinction such as compara-
lively few students win. No branch Of
priestly learning was so difficult or re-
condite that it did not engage his zeal
Gus attention and in all the ordinary
clerical studies he went beyond the
average depth. After finishing at May
nooth he was ordained priest by the
famous Dr.. Doyle and assigned to the
curacY of ghlinbridge in county Car
low. There he dwelt for a few years,
ministering to a small flock and deyo-
ting his leisure to favorite branches OF
study. In 1925, at the early age Of %,
he was called to Carlow College (St.
Patrick's), to I'LL the chair of natural
sciences. Nine years covered the
period of his professorship, during
which he became noted far and near
for his scientific erudition and his skill
as an instructor. In 1884 DR.. Cahill
went to Dublin, and in the suburbs
opened school. Then began his sin
gularly successful career as preacher
and lecturer. AS priest, he, OF course,
dealt chiefly with religious subjects, but
he ranged over historical and literary
fields and brought the wealth Of his
massive, as well as diversified scholar
ship to bear on every topic. He was an
orator in the elevated sense of the word,
possessing, to an extraordinary degree,
the FIVE great qualities of oratory; earn
estness and persuasiveness OF manner,
the art of accommodating himself to the
mental standing Of his listeners, thor
ough grasp of his subject, aptness and
fuency of expression, and a fine voice.
He had, moreover, wonderful i'm
pressive presence, being Of Herculean
frame and stately demeanor. One who
knew HIM intimately says that be was
six feet and four inches in height, and
we'll proportioned. His countenance
Observation-Disclosures, dauntless cour-
age and t1reless energy. 1t was q
leonine face, lit up in moments Of en-
thusiasm, and in DR.. Cahill they were
frequent, by lustrous dark eyes. In
controversy he stood in thu topmos5
place. Men are still living who recall
with zest the passage-at-arms between
him and the Rev. Mr.. j. Burns, in
which the latter gentleman was. fgur-
atively speaking, pulled to pieces.
Many another tilt he had with many
another sectarY, and invariably he over
came his adversary by superior dialec-
tic power. When in the noontide of
his prominence as a preceptor and ora
tor, he gained fresh laurels by espous
ing, with unmeasured ardor, the cause
of the masses of his countrymen, then
suffering direst distress. The terrible
year, 1847, found him champion of
Irish rights. With voice and pen he
Joined in the work of 6 7 oung Ireland" !"
His lectures and published letters were
brimming with intense patriotism. He
spared not the leaders of the British
government, the ministers whose names
wefe synonymous with harsh misrule.
Wellington and Lord John Russell, the